Elizabeth Pyatt's Latest Linguistics & Cognitive Stuff /stʌf/ Blog

Kate Middleton Singing in Welsh

Just ran into an article describing how future queen Kate Middleton learned the Welsh anthem enough to sing along at her recent Welsh visit. According to palace news sources, she chose to do this on her own, partly because she has been living in Anglesey, Wales

I’m sure there’s more than one point of view about how integrated Wales should be with the rest of the United Kingdom (technically, this would be irrelevant in an independent Wales)…but my heart was warmed by this. First, I have to applaud anyone deciding to learn the local language. She really could get away being monolingual, even in a location as Cymrophonic (Welsh speaking) as North Wales, but she is choosing to learn more about the area she is living in.

But it’s also an important symbol that members of the Royal Family are living in Wales and learning Welsh. Whether you’re a Royalist or want a completely independent Wales, I think it’s better for all of Britain if the former enemy nations can understand each other more. And I do believe that one role of the British Royal family can fill is to be cultural ambassadors. I’ll be curious to see how the monarchy and the Welsh evolve together.